November 19, 2009

The IndiVisible Memory Book

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) are co-sponsoring IndiVisible: African-Native American Lives in the Americas, a traveling exhibit about people of mixed African American and Native American heritage. Do you have a story to tell about your family's Native and African American ancestry? Please visit the NMAAHC Memory Book and share your experience.

We are Arawak/Chickamauga natives whose grandparents spoke Spanish. Go figure that! Anyhow we kept our heritage a secret from non-natives because we natives were always the butt of jokes. Proud to be mixed heritage. It is who I am!

Citizenship Verses Heritage
Cherokee People have struggled for centuries to survive and maintain their distinct identities as citizens of the Cherokee Nation. Today we face a dangerous assault on our tribal sovereignty from a proliferation of fraudulent groups attempting to claim the same treaty rights and obligations that rightfully belong to the true historic Indian nations.
Everyone has the right to their family heritage. However, “heritage” and “citizenship” are not always the same, and should not be confused or used interchangeably.
To be a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, at least one of your direct ancestors had to have publicly proclaimed their citizenship at the time of the Dawes Commission Rolls (1906). All others gave up their right and those of their descendants to Cherokee Nation citizenship. The Cherokee Nation Government establishes the criteria for citizenship.
To be more specific in our history, the “Eastern Cherokee Nation” and “Western Cherokee Nation,” including the “Old Settlers” and “Late Immigrants,” joined together in an Act of Union, July 12, 1839. There are no ‘lost’ Cherokee Tribes or splinter groups that hid out or wandered off the Trail of Tears.
Some groups attempt to appropriate the collective rights of genuine Indian nations; they can inflect great harm on the very people they are pretending to be. You can honor your heritage by learning about the history, culture and language of your ancestors, but citizens of Indian nations have rights and civic responsibilities to their nations that should not be infringed upon or imitated.
There are only three Federally-recognized Cherokee Tribes: The Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians both located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina (www.cherokee-nc.com).
Organizations rightfully claiming an association with the Cherokee Nation via Tribal Citizens At Large Groups, visit our web site www.cherokee.org and go to ‘Organization’ and then ‘Cherokee Communities.’ The Cherokee Nation does not question anyone’s claims of heritage, but merely points out the significant difference between claiming heritage and having citizenship in a federally recognized Indian tribe. For more information contact Cherokee Nation at (918)453-5000 and http://tribalrecognition.cherokee.org.